Mail-box.



Patented Nov. 25,1902; c. H. SHUTTLEWUBTH.

MAIL BOX.

{Applieatiola flied Mar. 29, 1902.)

WITNESSES.

Lem;

UNITED STATES OHARLES H. SI-IUTTLEWORTH, OF CORUNNA, MICHIGAN.

MAIL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,409, dated November 25, 1 902.

Application filed March 29, 1902. Serial No. 100,503. (Ho model.)

i To all whom it may concern:

. specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in mail-boxes, and is especially adapted for use in rural free-delivery routes where the carrier rides from place to place and does not' leave his conveyance, but deposits the mail in boxes by the roadside.

The object of this invention is to provide suitable portable receptacles for the mail, which are detachable from their supports, so that the carrier by providinghimself with one of these receptacles may change the receptacle he has for-the one hanging on the support at each place along his route; and a further object is to provide suitable supports for these receptacles having visual indicators to notify the carrier of mail to be collected, so that should he have no mail to leave at that place he will stop and, leaving the empty receptacle he has, take the one on the support into which the mail to be collected has previously been put, means being, provided whereby the engaging of one of the supporting-links by the receptacle to be left will release the receptacle from the opposite hook, which receptacle will fall into the carriers Wagon. To this end suitable supporting-posts are provided at the roadside where mail is to be left, and on these posts are supportinghooks for the receptacles 01' cans into which the mail is put. A pivoted indicator is so arranged that when mail to be collected by the carrier is left in the receptacle this indicator may be raised and will be held in that position until released by the leaving of one receptacle and removal of the other by the carrier.

The invention also consists in certain other new and useful features, all as hereinafter more fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of'Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a section on the line 4 40f Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section showing a modified construction; Fig. 6, an end elevation of the same, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a second modification.

A is a supporting-post, to the top of which is secured the laterally-projecting supporting arms 13, to the outer ends of which arms is secured the curved sheet-metal water shed or roof 0, which protects the operating mechanism beneath from the elements. Beneath the roof 0 and extending longitudinally thereof is the bar D, secured thereto by bolts D, which also serve to secure the roof to the arms B. Projecting downward from the bar D are the two cars D between which ears is pivoted the bar E, provided at one end with the hook E and at the opposite end with the notch E Embracing the notched end of the bar are the ears F, which extend downward from the bar D some distance below the bar E, and between these cars is pivoted a hook G, provided with an upwardly-extending arm G, to engage the notch E One of the ears F also furnishes a bearing for the rod H, on one end of which rod is secured the arm H, and pivoted to the side of the bar E is a latch I, adapted to engage the arm H and prevent it from turning in one direction, and the ear F at the opposite side of said arm prevents it from turning in the opposite direction. To limit the movemenp of the latch I and hold the same in position to engage said arm, a stop-pin l is provided. The rod H extends laterally outward through the bearing in the ear F and through a bearing H extending downward from the roof, past the lower edge of the roof, thence upward and over the roof, and is provided with a sheetmetal target or indicator J at its upper end.

For the reception of the mail-matter a tin or sheet-metal receptacle K of any desirable shape or size is provided, having a bail'K secured to its upper end, by means of which it is hung on the hooks G or E. I prefer to make this receptacle, as shown, with a conical top and a door L in its bottom, which door is hinged within the receptacle at a short distance from its bottom, so that the rain will not beat in around the same, and on the inner side of said door is secured a small box or receptacle L for money.

In the modified construction of support shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the bar D is provided with integral hooks D and D, bearing for the rod H being provided in the edge of the roof 0 and in the shank of the hook D and the end of said rod adjacent to said hook D is formed with a hook H which hook, when the target J is raised, will extend along beside the hook D and be engaged by the bail of the receptacle, the weight of which will hold the target in its elevated position, the arm 13 serving as a stop to prevent it from falling in the opposite direction. A cheap construction is secured, as shown in Fig. 7, by securing a hook M to the post and coiling the wire rod N, forming the support for the target J, around the shank of the hook and forming the opposite end of the wire into a hook N, which will lie adjacent to the hook M when the target is raised and be held in that position by the bail of the receptacle K.

In practice the carrier will always have one of the portable receptacles with him, into which he will put the first mail that he has to deliver, and upon reaching that place he will without stopping his conveyance hang this receptacle upon the hook E. This will tilt the bar E on its pivot and raise the opposite end thereof, releasing the arm G from the notch E when the weight of the receptacle hanging on the hook G will turn the same,and said receptacle will drop off into the conveyance or into a suitable apron or chute attached thereto. If at the next place along the route the parties have placed mail in the receptacle and so indicated by raising the target until the arm H has raised and passed the latch I and the carrier has no mail to deliver, he Will hang his empty receptacle upon the hook E, thus releasing the receptacle 7 containing the mail to be collected the same as before and at the same time also releasing the arm H, which allows the target to fall. This exchange of receptacles is continued along the entire route, the carrier always having one in his possession, in which he places the mail preparatory to delivering at the next place, and therefore much time and Work are saved, it being unnecessar for him to alight or to even stop.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a mail-box of the character described, in combination with a portable receptacle for mail, a visual indicator, and a movable support for said receptacle adapted to hold said indicator in a position to display the same.

2. In a mail-box of the character described, the combination with portable receptacles for mail; of a plurality of supports for said receptacles, a visual indicator detachably held in a display position, and means operated by the engaging of one of said supports by a receptacle, for disengaging a receptacle from the other support and releasing the indicator.

3. The combination with a portable receptacle for mail, of a pivoted hook to support said receptacle and a pivoted bar having a notch to engage said hook and hold the same in position to support the receptacle.

4. The combination with a portable receptacle for mail, of a pivoted rod having an indicator at one end and an arm at the opposite end, a pivoted bar having a hook to support the receptacle, a latch pivoted on said bar to engage said arm, and a stop to limit the movement of said latch.

5. The combination with portable receptacles for mail, of a pivoted hook having an integral arm, a bar pivoted intermediate its ends and provided with a notch near one end to engage said arm and hold the hook in a position to support a receptacle, and a hook upon the opposite end of said bar adapted to be engaged by a receptacle to rock said bar on its pivot and release the pivoted hook.

6. The combination with portable receptacles for mail, of a rod mounted in bearings and provided with an indicator at one end and an arm at the opposite end, a bar pivoted intermediate its ends and provided with a notch at one end and an integral hook at the opposite end, a pivoted supporting-hook, an upwardly-extended arm on said hook to engage the notch on said bar, and a latch provided on said bar to engage the arm on said rod.

7. In a mail-box of the character described, the combination of a receptacle having a supporting-bail secured to its top and a door in its bottom, a support, a hook pivoted to said support, and a pivoted bar having a notch to engage said hook and hold the same in operative position.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES H. SHUTTLEWORTI-I.

Witnesses:

OTTO F. BARTHEL, LEWIS E. FLANDERS. 

